Modesty Blaise (1966)

Modesty Blaise (1966) (DVD) (*)

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Screened, competed or awarded at:
BAFTA Awards
Cannes Film Festival

Language Selections:
English ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )
Italian ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )
Italian ( Dolby Digital 5.1 )
Italian ( Subtitles )

Product Origin/Format:
Italy ( PAL/Region 0 )

Running Time:
115 min

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen (1.78:1)

Special Features:
Interactive Menu
Scene Access

Movie filmed in 1966 and produced in:
United Kingdom ( Great Britain, Ireland )

Directed By:
Joseph Losey

Written By:
Stanley Dubens
Jim Holdaway

Actors:
Monica Vitti ..... Modesty Blaise
Terence Stamp ..... Willie Garvin
Dirk Bogarde ..... Gabriel
Harry Andrews ..... Sir Gerald Tarrant
Michael Craig ..... Paul Hagan
Clive Revill ..... McWhirter / Sheik Abu Tahir
Alexander Knox ..... Minister
Rossella Falk ..... Mrs. Fothergill
Scilla Gabel ..... Melina
Michael Chow ..... Weng
Joe Melia ..... Crevier
Saro Urzì ..... Basilio
Tina Aumont ..... Nicole
Oliver MacGreevy ..... Tattooed Man
Jon Bluming ..... Hans

Synopsis:

A popular British comic strip series served as inspiration for this light-hearted espionage adventure, which if nothing else certainly shows the marks of its origins in the mid-1960s. A large departure for director Joseph Losey, better known for brooding interpretations of Harold Pinter works (The Servant, Accident), the film is emphatically bright and colorful, taking on at times a nearly psychedelic feel. The strangeness is emphasized by the unusual casting, including Italian star Monica Vitti in her first English-speaking role as the title character and Dirk Bogarde, playing against type as her arch-nemesis. Essentially everything is played for its camp value, including the rather convoluted, James Bond-like plot, which concerns the hijacking of a shipment of diamonds heading for the Middle East. Like its mod-era sets and costumes, this unusual, inconsistent effort is certainly intriguing and attractive, but might seem rather dated to some.

Straight from the pages of Peter O'Donnell's newspaper comic strip, Monica Vitti is Modesty Blaise - the world's deadliest female agent! With her outlandish James Bond-style weapons and ever-changing hair colour, international super spy Modesty Blaise (Vitti in her first English speaking role) and her faithful sidekick Willie Garvin (Terence Stamp) battle villains the world over. Modesty and Willie become embroiled in a government conspiracy involving diamonds, a Middle Eastern sheik and a heist plot by arch-villain Gabriel played in high camp by Dirk Bogarde in a wig and sinister glasses. Joseph Losey directs this psychedelic adventure straight from the swinging sixties, where the jokes come thick and fast, the violence is outlandish and the action never stops.

Modesty Blaise, a secret agent whose hair color, hair style, and mod clothing change at a snap of her fingers is being used by the British government as a decoy in an effort to thwart a diamond heist. She is being set up by the feds but is wise to the plot and calls in sidekick Willie Garvin and a few other friends to outsmart them. Meanwhile, at his island hideaway, Gabriel, the diamond thief has his own plans for Blaise and Garvin.

This product was added to our catalog on Tuesday 20 July, 2021.

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